Co. Att'y: St. Olaf student Waylon Kurts, charged after cache found in dorm, was planning "mass casualty event"

A student at a private southeastern Minnesota college faces multiple counts after authorities found several items in his dorm room that school officials believed posed a threat — including knives, a tactical vest and empty ammunition and magazine boxes, according to charges filed Monday.

Furthermore, the Rice County Attorney's Office is asking for the student to not have access to any guns -- including in his Vermont home -- after his mother posts bail, as they argue he was "planning a mass casualty event."

St. Olaf College student Waylon Kurts, 20, was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit threats of violence, among other counts. Kurts is a sophomore at St. Olaf from Montpelier, and a member of the college's track team.

According to the charges, the items found in Kurts' dorm room included a tactical vest, empty boxes for ammunition and magazines, a tactical knife, a folding knife, firearm earmuffs, six propane canisters, fireworks, lighter fluid, a battery with wires and a lock pick set. As of now, the attorney's office says no firearms have been recovered.

Police also reportedly confiscated notebooks with writings that included a plot to steal ammunition from a retailer, police radio frequencies and a hand-drawn map of the recreational facility on campus. The map include an arrow indicating a travel route and apparent exit path, the charges said.

Kurts' attorney, Paul Rogosheske, said Kurts "has some things that look funny," but said there is nothing that poses a threat to anyone, according to a Star Tribune report. Rogosheske said his client is a hunter who shoots a lot, and pointed out that there were no guns or ammunition taken from Kurts' room or vehicle. He said Kurts drew the map for someone else.

"This is a conspiracy charge. There was no gun or ammunition found. We will let the process play out and, in the end, my client will be vindicated," Rogosheske said.

Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott said authorities are trying to determine what, if anything, Kurts had in mind. But County Attorney Kathryn M. Burbank said that they believe Kurts was trying to target the Skoglund-Tostrud building, which is a recreational facility on campus, and that the evidence they've gathered from his dorm room suggests he was not alone in planning a mass casualty event.

Burbank also voiced concerns that there are firearms, including an assault rifle, at Kurts' Vermont home, and asked that the court rule his family surrender them should he be relocated there.

St. Olaf officials say they became suspicious of Kurts on Wednesday, when a custodian saw two empty packages for high-capacity magazines in a garbage can. The college then contacted officers at the Northfield Police Department to report items "connected to potential acts of violence" found in the student's dorm room. Kurts was suspended from St. Olaf and left the Northfield campus after an interview with school officials, according to the news station. 

On Thursday, the student was arrested on suspicion of threats of violence. Officials at St. Olaf said in a letter addressed to students' families at the time that there was no ongoing threat to campus safety. Authorities at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are assisting Northfield police in their investigation.

In addition to the items found in Kurts' room and vehicle, the criminal complaint says a search of his phone showed he texted someone about buying guns from unlicensed sellers. Kurts also texted photos of a box filled with rifle magazines on a campus bench and the words, "Kids've got no idea whats in here, haha."

Notes found in Kurts' vehicle allegedly said "combat is much faster and closer than you think" and "the average door takes 2.5 kicks," according to the complaint. Notes also contained training directions for where to shoot a person on their body, targeting three areas -- the upper thoracic, the T-zone of the face, and the pelvis.

Kurts' family told Northfield police that all his guns were in their Vermont home and he wasn't shooting in Minnesota, the Star Tribune reported. A shooting range and gun shop in Burnsville told police that Kurts had visited "several times to shoot."